Shades of White and Shades of Gray
by Fizzy 13
Summary: Just 10 days after Sturm's defeat at Final Front, Black Hole is attacked by an unknown enemy capable of using advanced satellite-based weapons. What does their leader have to do with Sturm? Chap 1 now out!
1. Prologue

AN: My first AW fic. This idea I got from a session of literature class that covered the German 'Sturm und Drang' movement, which basically meant the increase of interest with folk tales such as the Grimm brothers' compilations. What am I talking about, you ask? Well, you'll just have to read it to get it. On a side note, this is slightly AU, since in this fic, Hawke's Black Storm doesn't kill Sturm, but just renders him almost virtually incapacitated.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the AW/2 COs, nor do I own AW and AW2… in the sense of copyright law. However, I do own copies of them, so there :P

The Shades of White and the Shades of Gray

An Advance Wars fic

By Fizzy 13

Prologue: Orbital Dilemma

"I told you already, sir! It's very important! Reconstruction of the Death Ray will just _have_ to wait!" Lash had been pressing the urgency of the current matter - no longer in her childishly evil and playful mood - for the past two minutes or so, justifying the reason on just _why_ she had barged into the throne room whilst Hawke was in the middle of his daily afternoon coffee sipping ritual. The said event would take hours to complete, and it was taboo for _anybody_, especially other COs, to disturb him while he was at it.

Ever since Hawke took over Black Hole after Sturm's defeat, quite a few things have changed, including, of course, the chain of command. Other than that, Hawke had apparently declared every third week of April as 'National Coffee Week', in which every possible festivity designated to commemorate the power that coffee provided was dished out in a span of seven days. Not that the quiet commander actually attended his celebrations, or anything, but a declaration was a declaration. Furthermore, he ensured no threat would come to his power by incarcerating Black Hole's former dictator in a suspended animation chamber designed to keep him there just about... forever. Or so Lash had put it.

Invading other territories wasn't exactly his priority at the moment, since he was too engrossed in basking in his newfound glory - exactly ten days old - to even bother doing anything about those meddling COs whose rock solid coalition currently dominated the majority of the continent of Macro Land.

"Fine, fine, go ahead and tell me… I might consider having you arrested if you stay in here any longer." The Commander-in-Chief of Black Hole calmly stated. He quietly took another sip out of his cup, immediately refilling it afterward.

Lash breathed a sigh of relief. _Finally_, he was going to listen, instead of just sipping his coffee arrogantly all afternoon long, which was technically what he'd been doing for the past week and a half since Black Hole's mortifying defeat. "For the past three days our intelligence system has been picking up coded messages from an unidentified source somewhere on the Terra Land continent."

"And how does this concern us? Is it meant for Black Hole, or the countries in Macro Land?" Hawked calmly sipped again, reveling in the exotic bitterness of what resided in his cup. He definitely preferred good old brewed coffee to pathetic three-in-one instants. The quality was far superior to that of the latter.

"At first I thought it was for some other territory and that our radio posts were just picking them up by chance, but then I noticed two anomalies…" Hawke nodded, giving her permission to continue, "First, when we traced the transmission's projection path, we realized we were the only country to have receptors within range of actually receiving the transmission as it passed by. Second, when we tried identifying the language, it was a perfect match with Lord - I mean - Sturm's native tongue…"

"So you're telling me that more likely than not, these coded messages are for Black Hole, more specifically, Sturm." Hawke took a longer sip than usual, apparently downing every last drop. His coffee pot had also been empty for the past minute or so. His afternoon coffee ritual was officially over… a lot earlier than scheduled. "Do you think you can decode them?"

"I'll have to say no to that, sir. Sturm was careful enough to keep the data on his native language nowhere near our understanding. None of the mainframe computers have anything on it. The only reason we figured that it was in his tongue was a funny little word Sturm liked using in his private quarters." Lash paused, as if trying to give effect to what she was going to say next…

It just happened to be that moment when a generic Black Hole space marine barged into the throne room, disturbing the building tension. "Lord Hawke! We've just received a Priority One image transmission from our observatory on Mt. Availos! They've sighted a large concentration of unidentified satellites in high orbit right above the citadel!"

"What!?" Hawke resisted the urge to show everybody that he had actually lost his cool that very moment by jumping out of the throne and shaking the whole story out of that soldier. How could _anybody _have snuck up on their advanced early warning system just like that? It was totally inconceivable. _Stay calm... we can get out of this..._ "Lash, do we have anything we can use against those satellites?"

She smiled that evil little childish smile she usually wore whenever baring another one of her 'toys' and brought out a palm top computer, tapping on its touch screen a few times to bring forth a holographic display of what appeared to be some sort of modified missile launcher. "Behold! The Anti-Satellite Missile Launcher! I call it A-Sat for short. It's capable of firing a laser-guided missile up to an altitude of 400 miles, just enough to take out a wayward satellite and then some! In short, we're gonna have us a falling star show this afternoon!" Her smile widened. She was going to enjoy blowing those things out of the sky.

It became apparent to Hawke that using these 'A-Sats' was the only option he had, in case those satellites belonged to some unknown opponent from somewhere, that somewhere, he concluded, being the same origin as the transmission the little wiz kid had reported: Terra Land. _There are no such things as coincidences… only accidents._ If somebody in Terra Land with enough resources to build 'a large concentration of satellites,' as the soldier had put it, was reaching out to Sturm, and found out that he had been put in the ice box, he would probably be pissed of right now. "Very well then. Lash, prepare your A-Sats and triangulate the _exact_ location of the transmission's origin. We're going to launch a counteroffensive on Terra Land as soon as those birds are downed."

Lash's reaction was quite expected. "Yay! We're launching an attack! Okey dokey, Hawke! You'll have your coordinates as soon as I finish playing with those satellites!" She scampered to the doorway and turned around one last time, "Toodles!" before disappearing into the hallway.

That was when the first beam hit them. Not only did it hit them where it hurt, it hit them hard. Several more came after this, each one destroying vital structures of the under-reconstruction fortress. Dozens of soldiers died in the attack. Hundreds of others were injured. Buildings, trees, and mountainsmelted as the pillars of light passed through them. Others that weren't close enough to suffer the aforementioned fate just burst into flames. The survivors of Black Hole's last encounter with the Macro Land Coalition had lost a massive number of their fellow men yet again, against an unknown aggressor.

------

"Combat Satellites are in position and primed to fire, my Lord. Numbers three, seven, and twelve have already struck at Black Hole's citadel, while 13, 21, and 62 just razed several of their key bases, leaving them in utter disarray." The only illumination whatsoever in the room was a holographic model of Wars World, Surrounded by several dozen red, blue, and green dots, satellites. Six of the red ones were blinking rapidly, apparently above the relatively small island that belonged to Black Hole. "Striking with the rest now would render Orange Star, Green Earth, Blue Moon, and Yellow Comet completely incapacitated-"

"No, not yet... I do not squander the power of my precious Combat Satellites for something as insignificant as decimating entire armies that I haven't even fought with yet. The intelligence division did a grand job of getting me all the information I needed, but now, because of that, I feel the urge to engage them myself… to see what they are capable of doing - to see the reason why they managed to defeat Sturm twice.'' the voice that responded was full of air, almost artificial... "Are the Dragon COs in position?"

"Yes they are, my Lord. General Wyvern is getting impatient and has sent us several complaints about Yellow Comet's winter season being too cold to bear. His latest blog threatens to launch his attack prematurely if we don't give him permission."

"And when was this last blog transmitted?" The superior of the two inquired, his interest obviously piqued.

"Around ten minutes ago, my Lord."

"I see..." the voice's owner began to silently contemplate his next move. "Very well. Give Wyvern permission to attack. We shall see what happens when that pitiful backward nation is given a taste of our power..."

"But my Lord... It's not yet the appointed time... if they attack now-"

"Regent!" The voice cut off yet again, "Just… do it." The Dragon COs were extremely flexible, and could adjust easily to a schedule modified on such short notice, at their best when working together, although when it came to conquering an entire continent in the span of less than a week, it required the division of labor according to who was suited to where. When it came down to whoever was best suited to taking down the backward fools who resided in Yellow Comet, - as Regent's intel was infallible, having been one of its older COs - Wyvern topped the credentials. After all, Astra was the top dragon and decided everything that was to be done. Wyvern's unstable temper was best released on a nation that would have a hard time fighting against their advanced technology, even if their General was quite incompetent and rather wild, to say the least. And it was showing at that moment of truth when he had been given permission, that his impatience was indeed a force to be reckoned with.

What could Regent say? He was talking to the Supreme Commander of the White Pulsar Forces, and nobody, especially a certain former Yellow Comet CO, who now happened to be the Executive Officer, _ever_ crossed the Supreme Commander of the White Pulsar Forces. He could only say one thing, "Of course... By your will, Lord Drang."

To Be Continued…

What's going to happen to Black Hole now that it's suffered a barrage of satellite fire? What has Drang in store for Macro Land? More importantly, what has he to do with Sturm? Who is Regent and why did he leave Yellow Comet in the first place? And how in the name of St. Andy Barclay is Yellow Comet going to react to seeing a dragon in their country? Only the next chapter can decide that.

AN: Like I said, my first AW fic. Please be gentle! On a side note, 'Sturm und Drang' means 'Storm and Stress', in case you don't know. And no, Drang's name has no symbolic meaning whatsoever, unless partnered with Sturm, whatever that means. In the meantime, please be so kind as to review this fic! Thank you.


	2. When Fire Meets Ice

AN: Finally, we get to find out what's up with these White Pulsar people. Enow I shall introduce yet another new CO or two to the fic. Don't worry, though! The other COs will make a show here as well. So relax! And enjoy! And feel free to give out your comments and suggestions!

Disclaimer: Don't own AW, never have, never will.

CHAPTER 1: When Fire Meets Ice

"You do realize the importance of this mission, don't you, Kirtz?" Sonja paced back and forth in front of the aforementioned CO, stopping ever so often to look him in the eye and check if he was listening. "Father's too busy looking for whatever he's lost this morning to even understand the importance of what I've just discovered" She stopped and brought out a laser pointer, snapping her fingers to signal some soldier in the back to turn on a projector, unveiling a map of Yellow Comet.

"At precisely Ten-hundred-twenty-three hours today, a northern coastal patrol sighted a massive fleet of unidentified naval and air units enter Sulfirr Bay and dispatch a landing party towards the nearby beach." She whipped the crimson dot of her laser pointer onto the target area on the projected map and drew a circle around it. "Your objectives are simple. Confront the unidentified troops with your own division. If ever they prove to be hostile, do not hesitate to engage them. Is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am!" Kirtz was young, 12 at the most. His sense of a dress code wasn't as refined as his superior's, no doubt about that, however, it was, nonetheless, fashionable wear that was useful for the winter. His long brown ponytailed hair made sure to keep his neck warm in cold weather, whilst a pair of skiing goggles sitting atop his officer's cap ensured visibility for him even in the direst of blizzards. Wearing light blue winter-issue uniform kept him camouflaged and warm at the same time, which was quite useless in the summer. Not that Kirtz liked the summer, or anything like that. He hated it with a coldness that compared even to Hawke's icy glare.

"The reason I've chosen you for this critical operation," Sonja tucked the laser pointer into her breast pocket and looked the younger CO straight in the eye, "Is because of your uncanny skills in snowy weather. My estimates indicate that, if you play your cards right, you can actually defeat CO Olaf in his own game of freezing everybody to death. It's pretty cold up there in the highlands, and there's an average daily snowfall rate of three feet, so things should look good for you..."

She backed off and crossed her arms over her chest, "However, don't let that go to your head. You're even newer than CO Colin, and hence, lack experience. The only thing I've ever seen you do perfectly was skiing off a ramp and onto a finish line without hurting yourself."

"That was six years ago, ma'am," Kirtz grinned smugly as he answered, "I'm surprised you remember that."

"How could I forget that?" The older CO replied, seemingly annoyed to some point. "We're cousins!" she paused, "And learn to call me on a first name basis, would you? Being called 'ma'am' by my favorite cousin is kind of unnerving."

"I'm your only cousin, Commander Sonja." Memories of past encounters with his cousin made Kirtz shiver inside. Sure, she was nice now, but turn the clock back a few years and one would realize that she wasn't always Little Miss Nice. _Training must've made her a good little girl somehow..._

"Right..." somehow, the idea hadn't dawned on her any earlier. "In any case, that's beside the point. They've already been positioned there for about two hours, and appear to be setting up base. If they plan on invading, I want them taken down before they can even finish their preparations. Is that clear?"

"Understood, Commander Sonja." Kirtz emphasized the sarcasm in the second word. This whole idea of calling one's superior on a first name basis just because they were related by blood was truly ridiculous. Sonja had _definitely_ gone through a major change in the past six years. Apparently, for him, the older CO had gone from 'Evil Dark Lady of Despise', to 'Overly Smart and Excessively Kind Goodie-Two-Shoes', which was funny, because he never imagined her to be this way.

"Good. Have your troops deployed on the combat site within an hour and a half. I've already calculated that with the number of units you have, you'll be more than able to overrun that landing party and drive away these unwelcome guests should they turn out to be hostile. If there aren't any further questions, you're dismissed." With that, the two COs saluted each other, Kirtz signaling the end of the ritual as he turned around and left the Briefing Room. "That boy has a long way to go." Sonja shook her head and whipped out her palm pilot, selecting the file containing the next campaign map she was charting a victory strategy for.

"Gahhh! What's taking so damned long" Wyvern irately pulled on the spiked strands of his stiffly gelled fiery red hair as he paced about the temporary command tent, flaps of its opening billowing in the blizzard's gusts. His attire was hardly fit for the occasion. A red shirt with a dragon's face printed in front, encased within an orange vest, red bracelets, brown slacks, and combat boots were his choice clothing... all assisted the cold in turning him into a human popsicle.

"How long has it been since we landed here" The hypothermia-threatened CO pointed at a random lieutenant at the radar post. "You. Tell me."

"Well, sir, if this clock is accurate enough, I'd say we've been waiting here for five hours already… Preparations have been complete since the last two." _It's funny they haven't sent anybody out to stop us yet. Perhaps we've been stealthy enough to get behind Yellow Comet's back?_

"Five hours, you say" Wyvern continued his rambling"Then why do I feel like we've been loitering about this wasteland of a tundra for five days" He never was that tolerant of anything cold... especially milkshakes. He hated them so much that he even burned down entire bars just for the fact that they served the icy drinks. "God, I think I'm gonna freeze over." He flicked his lucky maroon lighter open and lighted it just to warm himself. This particular item, he always kept in his vest's upper right pocket ever since it saved him from starvation at the hands of a nature walk gone sour. 

The lieutenant spoke up again. "Sir, you know it's not good to light a fire in a tent. We could burn down and"

"Burning to death in your own tent is a hell of a lot better than turning into Frosty the Snowman three weeks before Christmas, dammit! Besides, I requested my command tents to be made of fireproof material, right" He looked the lieutenant in the eye, the latter gulping as though he was a conspirator who'd just been discovered.

"Actually, sir it's… uh"

"You mean to tell me it's _not_ made out of fireproof material"

"Well, sir, you see, the materials weren't available at the time you ordered that and well…" The lieutenant just nodded, embarrassed at his position.

Wyvern sighed as he slapped his forehead and capped the lighter's lid back on. "How in the hell could a problem that simple keep you from getting me a fireproof tent? You could've just improvised and grabbed some fireproof paint or something and" A beeping sound coming from the transmission post knocked him out of his rant. "What the crap is that racket all about"

"Sir, we've received orders from command. Lord Drang has given us the okay on the assault. He says to take advantage of the element of surprise."

"It's about time that nut gave me permission to do anything. I thought I was gonna have to wait forever before we could attack." Wyvern smirked at his latest window of opportunity. Finally, he was going to advance through Yellow Comet's pitiful ranks and give himself some applause afterward. "What have we got on the Eye Sats"

The lieutenant remained silent. Wyvern's eyebrow rose. "I said, 'what have we got on the Eye Sats"'

"They're not supposed to be here…" The lieutenant finally spoke, staring wide-eyed at what the orbiting spies showed him. "Sir, a massive contingent of Yellow Comet forces just appeared beyond the next mountain range! From what I can see, they've been stationed there for quite some time and are advancing as we speak."

"What? How could the Eye Sats not have detected them" The irony of the situation then hit him. He just so happened to be assigned to the area of the nation where Eye Sats were at their least reliable, the blizzard-infested northern highlands. The said orbiting bodies relied on thermal tracking to monitor the planet, although night vision, motion detection and telescopic modes weren't unavailable. The only reason he didn't have them switch to any other views was because he was so used to the thermal tracking mode that he forgot about the weather which was masking the heat signatures of his opponent's forces. "I hate cold weather…"

"Sir, we're receiving a transmission from the Yellow Comet CO" the Comm. Lieutenant announced. "Should I patch it through"

"Yeah, go ahead. Butt-head probably wants us to surrender or something." Who could have detected their sudden landing? Besides being awkward, Yellow Comet's COs - especially their emperor - were incompetent morons. The only reason they were able to defeat the invading Black Hole forces was because the Black Hole CO was even dumber than they were... Wyvern's thoughts stopped in their tracks.

There was one exception to his generalization of the Yellow Comet COs: the emperor's daughter, Sonja. _She's the only one who could have seen the attack coming. It makes complete sense now!_ It didn't matter, though. Sonja's dossier indicated that she had so much bad luck that she couldn't beat somebody head-to-head to save her life. Finally, the lieutenant managed to get the makeshift video screen online, revealing his opponent. "Ah, CO Sonja I presume " something wasn't right. CO Sonja was a kid? A _male_ kid? It just didn't add up properly. Had their Intelligence Division been mistaken? His enemy's next statement cleared the fog.

"I'm sorry, Commander, but you are terribly mistaken. This is CO Kirtz of the Yellow Comet Army ordering you to identify yourself and state your reason for being here."

"I am Dragon Class CO Wyvern of the White Pulsar Army, and I think it's quite obvious, what me and my boys are doing here in your pitiful country. You have absolutely no idea of what you're up against, squirt, so why don't you just run back to your mommy or whoever, because you're definitely out of your league here." Wyvern said a mouthful. It was merely a response to how Yellow Comet embarrassed him, sending a little nobody CO instead of one of their three bigwigs. Who did those loonies think they were anyway? _Come to think of it, Sonja's the only CO capable of anticipating this attack, meaning this little pipsqueak is her pawn._ The Dragon CO smirked. _Looks like she's not as smart as the Intel Division says_. "Heh heh heh..." That should have scared Kirtz, but Wyvern didn't know his opponent.

"Frankly, Commander Wyvern, I don't give a broken pair of ice skates about your league." Kirtz snapped back. This verbal battle was going to lead to a physical one, and Wyvern could feel it. "Doesn't matter if you're a Dickens Class CO or whatever it is you're a member of. If you're putting stress on my country, thinking you could just waltz in and take over, then you've got another thing coming, Commander!"

"A fight's what you want, little boy, a fight's what you're gonna get!" Wyvern signaled that the transmission be cut, and proceeded to the Eye Sat Monitor. "What do we have on the CO database?"

"Well, sir, our hackers have managed to procure a copy of his dossier from Yellow Comet's Database. Uploading it now." The lieutenant tapped a few keys, bringing up the said data.

YELLOW COMET ARMY - KIRTZ DIVISION  
RELATIVE TIME OF COMISSIONING: FIVE DAYS PRIOR

CO PROFILE:

KIRTZ - SERIAL NO. B30-CO16753-YC04

YELLOW COMET'S LITTLE SKIER BOY CO. KANBEI'S NEPHEW  
WHO SONJA USED TO BULLY WHEN THEY WERE YOUNGER.  
SEES SKIING NOT JUST AS A SPORT BUT A WAY OF LIFE IN ITSELF.  
VIEWS KANBEI AS A GREAT HERO WHO SHOULD BE REVERED BY ALL.

HIT: KANBEI AND SKIING  
MISS: SONJA AND SUMMER

UNITS MOVE UNHINDERED IN SNOW, GAINING AN ADDITIONAL  
MOVEMENT POINT AS WELL. CAN USE SNOWY TERRAIN TO INCREASE  
UNIT FIREPOWER. INEXPERIENCE IN COMMANDING CAUSES UNITS  
TO HAVE LESS FIREPOWER. IS WORSE OFF IN RAIN THAN MOST  
OTHER COS.

NORMAL CO POWER: SNOW SHOES  
WEATHER ANOMALY CAUSES IT TO SNOW INSTANTLY.

SUPER CO POWER: SNOWBOARD XXXX  
WEATHER CONFUSION CAUSES IT TO SNOW INSTANTLY.  
EFFECTS OF ALL SNOW-RELATED BONUSES ARE DOUBLED.

UNIT FIREPOWER/DEFENSE OVERVIEW:  
INFANTRY: 90/80  
NON-TANK GROUND VEHICLES: 90/80  
TANKS: 90/80  
COPTERS: 90/80  
PLANES: 90/80  
NAVAL UNITS: 90/80  
TRANSPORTS: N/A/80

"A newbie, eh" Wyvern grinned. "Fish up my profile and compare the two."

"Yes sir. Recalling CO database entry on Wyvern..."

WHITE PULSAR ARMY - WYVERN DIVISION  
TIME OF ARRIVAL: 1023 HOURS, YELLOW COMET TIME

CO PROFILE:

WYVERN - SERIAL NO. D19-CO34608-WP07

DRAGON CLASS CO. A FIESTY AND IMPATIENT COMMANDER WHO  
LOVES PLAYING WITH FIRE AND HATES COLD THINGS.  
ESPECIALLY DESPISES COLD DRINKS.

HIT: LUCKY LIGHTER  
MISS: MILKSHAKES

FLAMMABLE AMMUNITION CAN CAUSE ENEMIES TO BURST INTO FLAMES,  
CAUSING ADDITIONAL DAMAGE FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS, AS WELL AS  
BURN FORESTS DOWN AND THAW OFF SNOWY SQUARES. MOVEMENT AND  
VISION PENALTY IN RAIN IS DOUBLED FOR HIS UNITS.

NORMAL CO POWER: NAPALM STRIKE  
GIANT FIREBALL FALLS FROM THE SKY TO DEAL 5 DAMAGE TO ALL AFFECTED  
UNITS, AUTOMATICALLY CAUSING BURN EFFECT. ALL FORESTS CAUGHT  
IN THE BLAST BURN DOWN INTO PLAINS.

SUPER CO POWER: INFERNAL STORM XXX  
CONCENTRATED FIREBALLS RAIN DOWN ON ALL ENEMY UNITS, DEALING  
3 DAMAGE. AUTOMATICALLY CAUSES LONGER LASTING BURN EFFECT.

UNIT FIREPOWER/DEFENSE OVERVIEW:  
INFANTRY: 100/100  
NON-TANK GROUND VEHICLES: 100/100  
TANKS: 100/100  
COPTERS:100/100  
PLANES: 100/100  
NAVAL UNITS: 100/100  
TRANSPORTS: N/A/100

"Hah! This is going to be quite simple. My fire will melt his ice." Wyvern eyed the satellite image of his camp.

Either flank was guarded by six squads of neotanks backed up by two squads of rockets. The forward barricade was headed by thirteen squads of tank units - six of light tanks, four of medium tanks, and three of neotanks. Behind the third echelon was a quartet of rocket elements, covering as far ahead as feasible. The White Pulsar camp was the most heavily guarded against ground units as it got. Two squads of missile launchers near the HQ perfected this defensive grid, ensuring the beach's security against air units as well. Several miles off the coast waited dozens of loaded landers and cruisers, submarines, and battleships. Once this little nuisance was taken care of, they would advance even closer, ready to clear out the rest of the area. "Time to fry some greenhorn behind."

Sergeant Major Harkings cringed as the third neotank squad on the left flank was wiped out. He didn't know why his CO was allowing such losses to an enemy that had been regarded as a pest. Usually, by this time, Wyvern would have already been able to launch some sort of counterattack against his foe. The battleships, cruisers, landers, and aircraft carriers remained motionless, silently watching the battle from offshore. Yellow Comet bombers continued unleashing their devastating payload on the White Pulsar troops, the former throwing caution to the wind as the two defending squads of missile launchers had been destroyed in the initial bombardment.

"All units! Fall back!" Harkings called out to the other neotank commanders via radio as he fixed his crash helmet. There had to be some rational explanation on as to just why Wyvern wasn't doing anything to save his troops. For the past couple of hours he had practically broken his own defensive formation into a vague and unorganized shadow of an attack formation. So ineffective it was, that Yellow Comet had no difficulty at all sending a pair of bombers through the would-be barricade in order to take out those missile launchers.

That same pair had circled back and was now dealing more damage to the rear echelons while several more were heading straight for the frontal division. If that wasn't enough, Yellow Comet's ground forces were also advancing, neotanks backed up by indirect units on a straight path through the narrow valley. White Pulsar was sandwiched between the front, rear, and sky. It was going to be a serious loss if their initial landing party was taken out altogether. Harkings' head popped out of the neotank's top hatch and turned to face the tent that was White Pulsar's temporary headquarters. Neutral factories in the area have not been captured at all, ironically enough, for there was nothing but armor in that camp.

It was then that Harkings received a transmission from the aforementioned tent. "Sergeant Major, return to your original course now! This battle depends entirely on your force. You must hold them off until reinforcements arrive from offshore. Is that clear? You must hold them off at any cost!"

What could he do? He had just received a direct order to push on forward. Sometimes he wished he had been assigned to one of the other four Dragon COs. CO Dragoon would've been a good choice, maybe even CO Astra. But alas, he had been assigned to the lowest ranking of the five, the hothead, the unorthodox, the Wyvern. Harkings shook his head and said, "You heard the Commander! Continue the advance!" Yellow Comet bombers continued flying overhead, dropping their deadly gifts on the armor units that pressed onward regardless of loss.

"Commander! We're detecting a high-energy emission from the White Pulsar HQ!" a Yellow Comet Lieutenant announced, "It looks like their CO is about to use his Super Power!" Now this kind of thing usually wasn't a problem for a CO who had the advantage of numbers and unit variety, but then Kirtz didn't know just what kind of powers Wyvern had either. That was the bad news. The worse news came a few seconds later, "Sir, I know you're not gonna like this, but we're also detecting movement from several of the enemy's naval vessels… they seem to be planes and copters taking off."

"Great! Just great!" The young boy's sarcasm was blatantly evident as he checked his CO Power meter. "Only halfway full… It doesn't get any worse than this." That was when the clouds darkened into a burning red, concentrating into nimbus formations that descended just a few hundred feet above the battlefield. Soon enough, it began to rain; not with water, mind you, but with fire. Balls of fire the size of your average hailstone fell onto the Yellow Comet forces, piercing bombers' wings, breaking into neotank control chambers. Whatever the case, one thing was common between all of the afflicted units: upon making contact with the combusted rain, they all immediately burst into flames.

The blips on the radar that were airplanes and copters began shooting down his bombers and striking at his armor units. The once seemingly cowardly White Pulsar armor division suddenly began to advance through his lines like there was no tomorrow. Kirtz's advantage was disappearing fast. His CO Power meter however, was filling up at the same rate. It was close. So very close. He was on the edge of revealing the result of his eight years of skiing, his eight years of learning this unique lifestyle that relied so much on snow. "You better watch out, I'm coming to town…"

That was when the lieutenant disrupted his intensifying momentum. "Sir, we're receiving a priority one emergence action transmission from Commander Sonja. I'm patching it to main screen now."

The next image that came to screen was Sonja's face, somewhat damp, the top of her head wrapped in a towel. Apparently, while he had been sending his troops into a head-on collision with unidentified invaders, she had been spending her time in the bathroom. _So she's not as nice as I assume she'd become… just great_. "Kirtz, pull back. You've seen enough action for one engagement."

"But Sonja, I'm just about to break through their counteroffensive!" Kirtz was telling half of the truth. After all, it was his forces that were getting slaughtered at the moment by fire.

"I couldn't care any less if you were about to capture their HQ, Kirtz. Pull back now." Her frown straightened into a forced smile. "I've collected enough information concerning our enigmatic opponent. With this on our side, we should be able to plan a counterstrike effective enough to drive them out of our territory within a week at most."

"So that's what this was all about?" Kirtz knew that she was just using him, but he didn't expect her to stoop so low as to just use him as a means of gathering intelligence on the enemy. "Gathering intelligence?" People, loyal soldiers, were _dying_ on his side of the screen, while she was fresh out of the shower, sitting in front of her personal terminal, analyzing statistics, simulating all sorts of tactical whatnot, comparing the results of one hypothetical battle with those of another. "Why? Why are you using these kinds of methods?"

Sonja's forced smile bogged down into a deep frown. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Listen, Kirtz. I lied. That force I provided you with can't hold them off for half a day without losing 95 of their total number. With the size of that fleet they have garrisoned in that bay, they're as invincible as Goliath the giant." The skier tried to make sense of what his cousin was telling him, but nothing did. "Right now, I'm David. I'm trying to find the part of his forehead that's exposed - out in the open. This was all necessary to find their weakness. Pull back now, Kirtz. For your own sake, pull back."

Kirtz couldn't deny the growing weight in his chest. To him, this was, in a way, betrayal. She had betrayed the soldiers involved in the operation. He couldn't help it anymore. Tears began to stream down his cheeks. He wasn't accustomed to such a painful sensation as this. He had no choice now, though. A superior officer was giving orders. He had to obey. "Alright. I'll do it." He forced a cynical grin to his face as he said one last thing to her, "Hope you enjoyed your bath…" as he signaled the lieutenant to end reception. The last expression on Sonja's face before being replaced by blackness was a deep look of concern.

"What do we do now, sir?" the lieutenant asked, as though he didn't know what the answer would be. It was pretty much obvious as to what his Commanding Officer was going to say, but for one reason or another, he felt like he wanted to act like a fool. _Better me than him, I suppose…_

"What else? You heard the Commander… Order our remaining troops to fall to the nearest friendly region. We'll spend the night there." Kirtz adjusted his goggles so that they gave just the right look for him as he turned to the main radar. Their numbers had decreased substantially, while the enemy, on the other hand, was up to more than double of their original count.

He stepped out of the stuffy command room and onto the balcony of the headquarters. The icy northern winds blew his long ponytail this way and that, but this didn't irritate him in any way whatsoever. He was used to this. In fact, this was what he enjoyed the most from the snowy weather. From his current altitude, the skier could see the enemy's camp, as well as Sulfirr bay. Sonja was right. There were at least a hundred ships in those waters, and God knew how many subs were lurking beneath the surface of the ice water.

She knew they didn't stand a chance, yet still she sent them. _Why, Sonja?_ Doing something like that wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do, strategically speaking, yet she opted for something as reckless.

The rain of fire had ended. The few units he had left were retreating to their encampment, still burning. The winner had been decided. Even if he was able to use his Super Power, it wouldn't change a thing.

His lieutenant appeared in the balcony doorway, saluting as he walked up to his commander's side. "We're ready to go, sir. All remaining units have been accounted for, and are ready to disembark. All we need is the order to move out."

The sun was setting, its usual lighting making the sky even redder than it already was. "Move out then" Kirtz mumbled. "I'll catch up as soon as I finish with something." He heard the lieutenant salute again and walk away. He looked out into the icy fields one last time before turning back to the HQ proper. _It truly is beautiful..._

Drang strode up to the throne that was Black Hole's literal seat of power, white cloak billowing behind him. He resembled Sturm in the sense that he liked wearing similar clothes. With the exceptions that Drang preferred white attire to black, that his snifit mask was made of steel instead of brass, and that he was three inches taller than Sturm, the two were almost identical.

He sat on the throne, wondering why his cloak was billowing in the first place, until he sighted an open window. Drang frowned, causing a release of green gas. The mysterious blue lights on his mask that stood for eyes glowed a little brighter than usual.

White Pulsar's Supreme Commander was now on the same piece of furniture his brother used to sit on until that blasted Macro Coalition defeated him. His holo-comm chirped. Drang tapped on the actuator. Regent's form was projected in front of the throne. "What is it"

"Lord Drang, I thank you for giving me the honor of taking charge of White Pulsar while you're away, but Advisor Caine seems to disagree with your decision." Regent was dressed in the attire one would usually find on a ninja, the only part of his face seen by the world being his cold, purple eyes. A sheathed katana was strapped to his back.

"Advisor Caine is a fool when it comes to such things" Drang replied rather nonchalantly. "Remind him of his status as a prisoner of war. We crushed his Red Sun Army, executed his twin sister, CO Laine, and bound him to us by chains. He has no part in White Pulsar's High Council. Send him to jail if necessary. That is all." He didn't wait for Regent's reply as he ended the conversation. He closed his eyes and began to take in the current serenity-

"Lord Drang" Drang opened his eyes to see a beautiful young woman kneeling at his feet, head bowed. Cream-colored hair cascaded down her back, complementing her well developed curves quite well. She was the kind you wouldn't say 'no' to if the question was sleeping with her. The problem was, she wouldn't ask _anybody_ that question, for she was a CO.

"Ah, yes... Astra. What have you to report?" green gas leaked out of his mask's snout. This was quite annoying, as all this time he'd never gotten the hang of it. Drang's hand balled into a fist.

Astra was 18. Yes, 18. And yet despite her age, she was the leader of the Dragon Class COs, the best among the best. She believed the stars dictated her to strive for that great honor, for she believed the stars to be alive. The tactics she applied to any battle were to some, unorthodox, to some, pure genius. Whatever they were, though, she applied them with an aggressiveness that was unrivalled anywhere. "CO Wyvern has just sent his report. His initial confrontation with Yellow Comets defensive force was, as he put it, quite disappointing."

"Just as I expected. He took them completely by surprise." The white snifit chuckled. The invasion might have begun ahead of schedule, but it was necessary to see how the enemy would react to a sudden attack. He had analyzed their tactics from afar, watched their reactions to Black Hole's invasion, differentiated the formidable COs from the idiotic ones. "They never stood a chance."

"Quite the contrary, sir." Astra replied. "He says that Yellow Comet forces had taken him by surprise. Apparently a brigade or so of Yellow Comet units snuck up on his camp. The Eye Sats were unable to detect them." Her head remained bowed. All of their confrontations were held in this fashion. The Dragon Class COs were White Pulsar's best commanders, above all others, each specializing in the element corresponding to the dragon he or she was named after. Astra commanded the power of the stars.

"Really now…" Drang puffed out yet another cloud of green smoke. "Well, it just comes to show that even among our best, there's always going to be a worst. How secure is Black Hole now?"

"I've positioned Stellar Guard forces all over the island, my lord. Nobody will be able to get through unless I say so." She was beginning to wonder if Drang would ask the most expected question thus far. _Surely he plans to do something about him._

"And what of the Black Hole COs?"

"They are being interrogated as we speak. Your brother, CO Sturm, is being revived from his current state in the med bay. It will take a few days, and we don't know if CO Hawke's Black Storm attack has dealt any permanent effects to his body."

"I see…" Drang rose from the seat. "The time has come! Strike while the enemy is in confusion. Order the other Dragon COs to begin their assault on their respective targets. See to it that this continent is ours by the end of the month." He stared out of the window overlooking the southern side of the Citadel. In the distance was the ocean, sparkling in the sunset. Drang paid no attention to that, but to a tiny lump on the horizon, the object of his dreams. _Soon, father, you will realize that your decision on your deathbed was the greatest mistake you've ever made…_ Yellow Comet had begun to fall. Orange Star was next. He'd done a major analysis of his targets and knew just which CO went where. That showoff nation wouldn't stand a chance against Dragoon. "Soon, Wars World will know my name… and fear it."

Catherine's Report:

Unknown 'Ghost' Faction Sighted All Over Macro Land

By Catherine Springer

You've heard about it over gossip, you've seen it on the news. A mysterious army marked by the color white has suddenly sprung up all over Macro Land. At exactly Three-forty-seven PM this afternoon, Yellow Comet forces, led by their newest CO, Kirtz, fought and lost a head-to-head confrontation with one of this 'ghost' (taken from their white color) faction's COs.

Survivors of the battle report having been almost burned to a crisp by fireballs that 'rained' down upon them, igniting anything they touched in an instant. Yellow Comet spokesperson Riku Ishijima, during a press conference this evening, states, "Clearly this unknown army focuses on harnessing the power of the elements in combat, as CO Kirtz has experienced in his duel with the enemy commander."

Border patrols from other member nations of the Macro Coalition report sightings of unidentified white troops that remain just outside communication and radar range. "For one reason or another, however," Green Earth Patrol Commander, Lt. Herrik Frintz says, "They kind of like to loiter about within visual range, and then dart away again, almost as if taunting us to come and get them."

Macro Coalition's top COs will be holding a press conference at Orange Star's Emergency Action Center (EAC) tomorrow at seven o'clock to inform the people of what they have been doing to ensure that the situation doesn't escalate into another full-scale war. In the meantime, Orange Star Commander in Chief Nell has lowered the national safety level to DEFCON 3 (moderate risk of all-out war) in anticipation of a sudden attack from the ghost armed forces that have also been sighted off OS shores. **_-wwn_**

To be continued…

AN: Well, here's my update. Yeah, Kirtz is the same Kirtz I use in the AWB RP, but I of course, changed his history. I got the news article from the background of AWII… checked out the Wars World News articles and saw a column entitled "Catherine's Report". Decided to put it in just to add to the atmosphere. Yes, the '-wwn' at the end of the article stands for Wars World News. And that's right, Drang is Sturm's brother. I know, Sonja's been acting OOC, but that's something I got from that mission where you have to stop Adder from capturing those ten cities – the one where laser cannons first come out… anyways, please do me a favor and review. Thanks!


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